Broker, lead generator or lender: who are you really dealing with?

Online, a lender’s website, a broker’s website and a lead generator’s website can look almost identical: a friendly headline, a short form and a big button. What happens after you press that button is very different. Here’s how to tell them apart.

What does each one actually do?

	Direct lender	Broker	Lead generator
Assesses your application	Yes	Prepares it for a lender	No
Funds the loan	Yes	No, a lender does	No
Works on your situation personally	Yes	Yes, if it’s a good one	No
Who sees your details	The lender	The broker and the lender(s) it approaches	Whoever buys or receives the lead
Typical contact after you enquire	One team	One broker	Several callers

None of these models is automatically good or bad. Plenty of excellent brokers exist, and some lenders are hard work. The issue is transparency: you should know which one you’re dealing with before you hand over your details.

Why do lead generators cause so much hassle?

Because their incentive is to pass your enquiry to as many buyers as possible. That’s where the flood of calls comes from, and why you end up repeating your story to strangers. If several of those callers run credit checks, your file collects enquiries too. We cover the full picture in lead farms and comparison sites.

Five questions that reveal who you’re dealing with

Ask these before you submit a form or share documents:

1. “What’s your business name and ABN?” Every legitimate business can answer instantly. You can check it on ABN Lookup.
2. “Who will contact me after I enquire?” One team is a good sign. “Our partners” is a flag.
3. “Will my details be shared with anyone else? Who?” Look for a clear, specific answer, and check the privacy policy says the same.
4. “Do you fund the loan, or arrange it with someone who does?” Both are fine; vagueness isn’t.
5. “Will you run a credit check, and when?” Ideally not at the enquiry stage.

If a website doesn’t answer these anywhere, and nobody will answer them on the phone, move on. Our lead-farm checker walks you through a similar set of questions in under a minute.

How do I check whether a lender or broker is legitimate?

• ABN Lookup confirms the business exists and shows its registered details.
• ASIC’s professional registers let you search credit licensees and credit representatives. Scamwatch recommends checking an organisation is licensed by searching ASIC’s professional registers before dealing with it.
• Contact details you find yourself. Scamwatch also suggests calling organisations using contact details you’ve sourced independently, not ones given in an unexpected message.

Business-purpose lending isn’t always covered by the same licensing rules as consumer credit, so a missing licence isn’t automatically a scam. But a business that won’t tell you who it is, or asks for money up front, is a clear warning. See business loan scams for the red flags.

So which should I choose?

Choose whoever passes the transparency test and treats your details with care. Good signs:

• a clear company name and contact details,
• one point of contact,
• no credit check just to ask a question,
• your documents requested only after you choose an option,
• written terms before anything is signed.

That’s how we operate. Your enquiry comes to our own lending team, there’s no credit check when you first enquire, and one real person calls you. See for yourself; it takes about a minute.

What about “free” services? How do they make money?

It’s a fair question to ask anyone. Lenders earn from the loans they fund. Brokers are often paid by lenders, and sometimes charge a fee; a good one tells you how. Lead generators earn by passing on enquiries. There’s nothing wrong with any of those models, but knowing how a business is paid helps you understand what it’s motivated to do with your details.

What does it look like from your side of the phone?

The difference usually shows within a day of enquiring:

• With a lender, one team calls, asks sensible questions, and explains what it can and can’t do.
• With a good broker, one person calls, gathers your details, and tells you which lender they plan to approach and why.
• With a lead generator, several companies call, each unaware of the others, each starting from scratch, and some asking to run a credit check straight away.

If you find yourself in the third situation, our page on stopping loan marketing calls walks you through winding it down.

Illustrative example: three websites, one afternoon

Illustrative only.

A cabinet maker compares three sites. The first names its company, says one lending specialist will call, and explains there’s no credit check to enquire. The second is a broker that lists the lenders it works with and says it will call once, then approach a chosen lender. The third says “get matched with our network of partners”, has no ABN on the site, and asks for consent to be contacted by “third parties”. He enquires with the first, keeps the second in mind, and closes the third tab.

Deal with one team, from start to finish

You deserve to know who’s on the other end of the form. Our enquiry takes about 60 seconds, there’s no credit check when you first enquire, and your details go to our lending team and nowhere else: no spraying them across a pile of lenders. A real person calls and explains your options in plain English.

When you fill it in, be as accurate as you can. Since we’ll be the ones working on it, the better the information, the better the match first time.

Talk to one real team →